Apples
by WOWZAcoolBEANS
Summary: It's strange how one fruit could symbolize everyone who was ever important to Jack Atlus. A bit weird, just an odd brain nugget . A bit of Jack/Yusei and Jack/Carly if you squint.


**Title:** Apples

**Synopsis:** Jack reflecting on his past through the apples that he always ate peeled. It used to be his mother, than Yusei, then Mikage, but now he has a new person to share apples with; a girl named Carly. This might be a tad bit confusing if you didn't notice Mikage peeling an apple in episode 29. No real pairings, unless you want to say there's a bit of Yusei/Jack and Jack/Carly, but there's not really. I think.

**Rating: **K+

**A/N**: Okay, this was a weird brain nugget that I had when I first watched episode 29 a few months ago and wrote part of, then abandoned. A few days ago I came back to this, re-wrote part of it and added more on, and we now have the most odd one-shot that I've ever written. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, because if I did, then I would not have let 4Kids murder the series.

--

His mom had peeled apples for him every day.

Even when there were few apples to be had, or money was short there would be a peeled apple in his lunch every day. Maybe it wasn't the biggest, or best tasting apple, but there was always one there. Sometimes Jack wouldn't want the apple, or complain to his friends about how he had the same thing to eat every day, but as Jack sat in the hospital; forced to think about what he did not want to remember; one good memory came to his mind.

His mother's apples.

"And an apple for you, just the way you like it, no peel." She would say with a smile as she handed him his lunch every day.

Of course Mikage had agreed to peeling the apple for him, she always agreed to do anything for him, no questions asked. In some ways Jack thought of Mikage as a mother. Of course, she was his age, and probably would not take well to his thoughts, but he couldn't help it. She did all of the same things his mother did, cook, clean, chastise and take care of him. And of course, just as he had treated his mother, Jack treated Mikage like crap.

Jack's mother had died right around the time that he had met Yusei.

Of course Jack had been devastated to lose his mother at fifteen, anyone would have been, but in a way Jack had felt that God had almost done him a favor.

His mother had once told Jack that when God closed a door he opened a window.

Sure, Jack had lost his mother, but she had been almost nonexistent in his life for quite some time. She had been sick for three years, and was suffering. In some ways, it was a relief that she passed on. And with her death brought the birth of a friendship. A friendship that both blessed and cursed Jack's life.

Jack hadn't had many friends as a child. People found him to be disagreeable and, well, somewhat mean. But that wasn't it; he just had ambition. Jack didn't want to be stuck in the Satellite for his entire life. He didn't want things to make him feel attached to the place that he so desperately wanted to leave. But Jack had never realized how lonely he had been before he had made a friend.

Yusei liked to eat the peels of an apple.

Jack liked the insides.

It was strange. Now, instead of bringing a peeled apple with him everywhere he went, he brought a whole one and a knife. Because Jack knew that when Yusei was there, the peel wouldn't go to waste.

Now Mikage was there, peeling his apple and grimly Jack noted the fact that there would be no one to eat the peel. His mother wouldn't be there to do it, Yusei would never share an apple with him again (probably because he would think it was poisoned) and Mikage would never ask Jack for something so simple as an apple peel.

Once Yusei had asked Jack why he didn't eat the peels.

"They're the healthiest part." He added, trying to make Jack change his ways and become a peel-eater. Like that would ever happen.

"They're also the most disgusting part." Jack said with a grimace, mentally adding that no one had to care about their health in a sty such as the Satellite, you would just end up getting sick no matter what.

Silence formed between them as Jack concentrated on peeling the apple that was in his hands. He could feel his friend's eyes burning into him as he focused on the now familiar strokes of the knife against the apple.

Jack snapped.

The intense focus that Yusei had on him, the fact that he was just staring caused Jack to have the knife slip. He cut himself. It wasn't a big gash, but blood covered a good portion of the already red apple.

"Shit." Jack said without much emotion. He had been through worse; he just needed to make sure that he could find something to disinfect the cut with. But before he could go find a bandage Yusei had grabbed Jack's hand and was looking at the cut.

"You stay here, I'll get something for you." He said as he left the room.

Yusei had truly been a good friend.

--

"So… um… is there something that you'd like to eat?" The nervous girl asked him. It had been a week since Jack had moved in with the hyper reporter, but she still seemed to be nervous around him quite a bit.

Jack stood there and thought for a moment, but he knew what he'd like most of all.

"An apple please." He said. Carly looked at him funny for a moment. He had been making ridiculous and difficult requests all week, but the request for an apple was one that was simple and easy.

"Okay." She said as she grabbed one out of her small refrigerator and held it out to Jack. "Is this okay?" She asked nervously. For all she knew an apple was code for something entirely different. Jack was still rather confusing to her.

Jack grabbed the apple and smiled. He took the pocketknife that he always kept with him out of his coat and started to peel the apple. Carly stared at him, he was acting so odd. When he was done he took the peels that he had collected on the table and held them out to Carly.

"Do you want them?" He asked her without a smile, like always. She blinked.

"Yeah, thanks, they're my favorite part." She said as she began to nibble on them.

Jack took a large bite out of his naked apple. "I bet I could have guessed that." He said quietly as he took another bite.


End file.
